The time this list would not apply would be to characters who don't need to sleep/breathe/eat/drink, can make their own fires, and/or are not affected by poison. Otherwise, agree? Disagree?
Edit: Updated.
I would add backpack, fishhook(s), torch(es), and a whetstone.
Total weight of your gear = 22 lbs (+4 lbs for my addition)
Total cost of your gear = 62g, 1s, and 2c (+2g, 1s, and 3c for my additions)
Antitoxin - fairly expensive (at first level, at least), not terribly effective, and completely redundant if the party has a character capable of casting healing spells such as neutralize poison.
Flint and steel - not all characters need light to see, and a simple cantrip (Prestidigitation) can start a fire far more effectively. While certainly handy to have at times, this is not a necessity for every character.
Rope and grappling hooks - these are still kind of weighty (even with silk rope) and one for each character is wholly redundant. At absolute most there should be one set per two characters.
Food/Water - spells can summon them, and a character with the survival skill can procure them. Again, they are not always a necessity.
One thing to remember for the standard, dungeoneering-type adventurer is that dungeons are generally habitable, hence the presence of monsters. Unless it contains only constructs and undead a dungeon has to be capable of providing food, water, shelter, and warmth. Likewise, most wilderness areas can afford these things as well, and in a city campaign all those items are almost completely uneccessary.
As to beer and ale - carry a flask of brandy or some other hard alcohol, it will be smaller, lighter, and more effective (as well as doubling as a combustible and tasting better).
Soap
Originally posted by Avner
it might be a bit of a joke (i still laugh at it), but i still give players penalties on charisma checks for not using it...
Soap
Technically if you're playing D&D as taking place in a quasi-medieval society, bathing isn't that common to begin with. That said, you can decently clean yourself with just water, perfectly with Prestidigitation (clean), and perfume can be considered "more effective" as it can mask smell by just being splashed on without taking the time to bathe. Perfume can also double as an item to confuse a monster's scent ability.
Thanks
FenixZero
then again, it might be a little expensive...ill have to check the item lists...
btw
how do u do that little quotation thingy u did with my previous post?
Avner
Edit: BAh, you beat me to it.
Player: I light a fire with presidigatation...
DM: Make a survival skill check.
Player: Why, the spell should work!
DM: Its a 0 level spell, that doesn't do any real fire damage, and all the wood is wet because it rained for the last two days.
Player: I sleep in my cloak
DM: after a night of shivering you wake unrested, no 8 hours rest no spells for you.
Player: I forage for food
DM: Its early spring the berry season hasn't begun and there are no edible flowers in bloom yet, seeing as you don't have any survival skill, (grabs a book on mushrooms from a huge pile of guide books, shows two different pictures of wild mushrooms) pick which one you want to eat, pick the right one and you have breakfast, pick the wrong one and make a Fort save.
Player(ranger): I hunt for the days food.
Dm: great you caughtsomething, and while you spent your day tracking, hunting, skinning and butchering your lunch the orge chief steals off with the princess.
Originally posted by Yoho1.5
Player: I light a fire with presidigatation...
DM: Make a survival skill check.
Player: Why, the spell should work!
DM: Its a 0 level spell, that doesn't do any real fire damage, and all the wood is wet because it rained for the last two days.
Moot point. If the wood is so wet that a magical, open flame won't start it flint and steel could hardly be assumed to be any more effective. You've screwed your players on that front either way.
Player: I sleep in my cloak
DM: after a night of shivering you wake unrested, no 8 hours rest no spells for you.
Again, this is assuming the player's are in a cold area, in which case they should indeed have a bedroll. This does not mean a bedroll is an eternal neccessity and a fire or characters huddling together (or a quick survival check to burrow under snow/leaves/etc) could still create appreciable warmth.
Player: I forage for food
DM: Its early spring the berry season hasn't begun and there are no edible flowers in bloom yet, seeing as you don't have any survival skill, (grabs a book on mushrooms from a huge pile of guide books, shows two different pictures of wild mushrooms) pick which one you want to eat, pick the right one and you have breakfast, pick the wrong one and make a Fort save.
A character without the survival skill should not be trying to forage. Again, my point was not that the gear (or in this case, food) was completely superfluous, but rather that it was not something "every character should have." As a final point nuts, roots, and edible bark are things that could still be procured even in the dead winter (though not without some difficulty).
"Survival" can be tough, but adventurers are supposed to be tough as well. I have done fine in several survival/camping situations (sleeping in just clothes, foraging for food, etc) and I am just a first level commoner.
There are occassions when you need gear, there are characters (particularly ones meant to sophisticated nancies) who would need it (and would be a pain to adventure with), but saying that these items are for all characters all the time is silly.
Also, ignoring magic in D&D is another odd choice. Perhaps characters don't always have the spells prepared but a wand of heroes feast, or even the amazingly affordable and infinitely useful Cloak of Travel from Magic of Faerun (something I would be willing to call a must have for all characters, I always get one for mine) are not impossibilities.
Chalk. For writing on walls and floors. Good for making plans and marking paths in mazes.
Ball of Twine. Lighter and thinner than rope, good for all those times when rope's just too thick and bulky.
A small mirror. Ideal for looking around corners and keeping your beard even. And for signalling others.
Signal whistle. Useful for signals, though pretty obvious. Lighter and more convenient than a horn though.
At least one dagger/knife. Because you need something to cut things with, and having to use a sword is silly.
A small spool of snare wire. Sure, you can tie someone up with rope or twine. This is a HECK of a lot harder to snap though, and if they wiggle too much, it cuts really, really easy. Also doesn't stretch like most rope or twine. Also for snares, or any relatively permanent bindings. Or trip lines. Etc.
Several candles. You'll always be able to light the candle. Once you get the candle lit, you've got a convenient source of light, heat, and no constant attempts to get the wet kindling to catch. Just let the candle sit there; it'll dry it out and light it no problem.
Most of the above is fairly cheap to boot, and all of it is neglibly small and light. Some things, like the twine and snare wire, aren't standard pieces of gear, but they're pretty basic and I find that most DMs will allow them, though some make you pay through the nose for wire. Still, even when I'm playing a lightweight, most of the above is in some pouches. It's just so darned useful.
rations/meals/fishooks - gotta eat.
clothes!- well you SHOULD have that lolol
bedroll/enough gp to sleep in a inn/house
obviously,unless if youre taking vow of poverty,any char will want a lot more than that lol
Originally posted by Ithilorien
Rope and grappling hooks - these are still kind of weighty (even with silk rope) and one for each character is wholly redundant. At absolute most there should be one set per two characters.
*shakes hands*
Hi, you must be new to the game. Any veteran player can tell you that you can NEVER have too much rope. :D
I do like to keep soap about me. Not only to disguise my scent when needed, but with a little time to prepare, it can serve as a makeshift Grease spell. It can be used to write on walls and wash off dubious slime from stuff you need.
One thing I just remembered now, but I'm going to look into getting, is a few flasks of lye. More common than acid, but nasty like it, lye would make a great thrown weapon and, well, anywhere there's soap, I should be able to obtain it.
I bring extra clothes. A few outfits other than the one I'm wearing. Even if you're NOT the party spellcaster, extra clothing could prove useful for when you both need to masquerade, or in social scenarios where clanking in in stinky armor you've worn for a while wouldn't be prudent.
Each Character should have:
1 Backpack
1 Bedroll
1 Waterskin
Iron Rations (1-x days depending on your location)
1-2 Candles (sometimes its dark and even darkvision doesn't let you read well)
1 Flint and Steel or Tindertwigs
1 Torch/Lantern/Everburning Torch
1 Rope, 25-50ft
1-2 Fishooks
Twine
Things the Party should have:
Grappling Hook
Ink/Inkpen/Parchment/Scroll Case
Torches/Lanterns w. Oil/Sunrods
10ft Pole
Silk Rope
Sacks (for carrying treasure)
Spade or Shovel
2 Whetstones
Tent or Canvas for Shelter
A character should always carry the minimum to allow them to survive and hopefully get back to civilisation if the unexpected happens.
The Party should make sure they have sufficient items to cover most mundane eventualities.
for me...
usually a cart (15GP) and a horse (75). park it outside the dungeon, return with loot to store in cart. everything is good loot at low levels. even dissassembling and taking a door is good for an extra 10-50GP.
also,
flint and steel
some torches
some empty vials
some vials of oil
backpack
ink and parchment for maps and stuff.
100 feet rope. 50 feet always comes up short for me anyway.
grappling hook
a ladder if got a cart.
2 weeks rations for a long trip.
a chest. it can come in handy.
blankets
waterskin
i actually have a typed list of priced items i get. i have had too many situations where if i did not have it written down i did not have it.
before any comments i want to say that this is mostly important at low levels. after gaining a few levels and having a wizard and cleric a lot of this becomes inconsequential. still nice to have for securities sake.
It's gotten to be the first thing I write on my equipment list for every character I make.
Also Bed Roll and Backpack come standard, flint and steel.
I usually try and keep a weeks rations on me whenever possible just in case.
Silk rope
masterwork manacles
whip
stiletto heels
er... wrong dungeon.
If you are going Dungeoneering, everyone should have the following:
Waterskin, 1 day of rations, dagger, source of light or ability to see in the dark, signed will and last testament.
Depending on your level: someone in the party should have the following:
Hammer and pitons (or spikes).
Lots of rope and grappling hook.
More food and waterskins.
Parchment and inkpens.
Acid flasks, alchemist fire, (you never know when you need these)
Ability to cast "Alarm"... perhaps also caltrops.
Shovel (for burying the dead)
Originally posted by Yoho1.5
Some posters have stated that you can go without, because of spells this is true but way waste spell slots to take care of the mundane when ordinary items will do the trick? What happens if the casters are dead or unable to cast? IMHO basic survival gear is important, for wilderness/dungeon crawl adventures. Also some have noted that you can be ruggedly minimalist with your survival gear, of course you can, because it is easier said than done, and as a Player all you have to say is "I sleep out in my cloak" you don't have to feel the cold or the pangs of hunger and thrist. As someone who has spent a night out with just my clothes I can tell you it sucks, and you don't get much sleep. As for foraging it takes time and not every forest is a disney-esque paradice teeming with food stuffs, if you want to adventure take some food withyou, otherwise your game session might be spent hunting and fishing, or more likely searching and starving, without a ranger or barbarian. When I DM mother nature is one mean mother, why? because in all the time I've spent out climbing I've noticed that she is extra cruel to the unprepared.
Player: I light a fire with presidigatation...
DM: Make a survival skill check.
Player: Why, the spell should work!
DM: Its a 0 level spell, that doesn't do any real fire damage, and all the wood is wet because it rained for the last two days.
Player: I sleep in my cloak
DM: after a night of shivering you wake unrested, no 8 hours rest no spells for you.
Player: I forage for food
DM: Its early spring the berry season hasn't begun and there are no edible flowers in bloom yet, seeing as you don't have any survival skill, (grabs a book on mushrooms from a huge pile of guide books, shows two different pictures of wild mushrooms) pick which one you want to eat, pick the right one and you have breakfast, pick the wrong one and make a Fort save.
Player(ranger): I hunt for the days food.
Dm: great you caughtsomething, and while you spent your day tracking, hunting, skinning and butchering your lunch the orge chief steals off with the princess.
While I agree with the general principals of your post (I have been homeless before and slept in parks, long story, dont ask), I don't agree with some of the finer points.
Even in warm climates, it gets extremely cold at night. This is because your body goes into "hybernation mode" and the blood retreats to the inner parts of your body - so I agree with you on the cold factor. If you want a comfortable sleep you really need some proper gear, only a really heavy cloak would cut it, and if you're carrying a heavy cloak, you might as well carry some bedrolls too.
Many people not carrying essential gear "because it's too heavy" needs to take lessions from the army. Scouts in the army are much like adventurers, they go off on their own or in small groups for extended periods of time. They are literally bent over backwards with all the gear they need for just survival, let alone their weapons and what not.
The thing many of you are forgetting is that as time goes on, your gear gets lighter, as most of the weight is food. So initially you can afford to carry heaps of gear. Besides, in a fight situation an adventurer would do what a soldier does and drop his rucksack before the engagement. If you can't get it back afterwards, tough luck.
Now, some of the points I disagree with you are the following:
Spell Casters do not need 8 hours of sleep to get their spells back. They need to spend a certian amount of time studying/praying/whatever, but that does not mean sleep. They could do this quite easily.
Foraging/Survival. Game isn't as sparce as you think, unless the party is in some blight situation or other harsh territory. Rabbits and other small animals would be quite common, and anyone with any points in a bow or a sling could easily kill one.
Rabbits tend to stand still in fright some times, I used to hunt them all the time on my parents farm when I was younger. There is always plenty of game, and you don't need to be an expert to get it.
Bringing down a boar or a deer however requires stalking skills as those animals don't sit still in fright like a rabbit, but the characters hardly need to kill one of them.
Berries - you can pretty much tell which ones are safe to eat by watching the birds, that's a no brainer.
The fire point I agree with you, but you should have told your player this to begin with before they wasted their spell.
I don't play much (as I DM) but some essentials I think are Silk Rope, Hooden Latern, Horses + Saddlebags (to carry all that loot), flint and steel, rations, theives tools, plenty of ammo, parchment/ink/quill(mapping!), and of course, holy water.
Even if your DM doesn't allow you to re-prepare spells after two hours, it'll cut down on the amount of food you need, and you won't need to stop as much. Everyone should have one of these. Later, you should upgrade it so that it doesn't take a slot.
How are you going to secure that rope? I will stick a piton into the ground/wall/floor and tie it there.
make a person extra secure by pinning them to the ground with ropes and pitons a la Gulliver's travels.
wedge doors with them
if evil, torture a prisoner by using them to pin appendages to wall/floor
so many uses I can't think of them all.
Not every character needs to carry a 50' silk rope, or a bed roll. Generic items like backpack should be a given as are basic adventurers clothes, but not much more. Buy what you'd like your character to have, but keep in mind that at first level, you don't need a masterwork sword when you'll probably end up dead anyhow......
Originally posted by kattattack22
Pitons. VERY useful.
How are you going to secure that rope? I will stick a piton into the ground/wall/floor and tie it there.
make a person extra secure by pinning them to the ground with ropes and pitons a la Gulliver's travels.
wedge doors with them
if evil, torture a prisoner by using them to pin appendages to wall/floor
so many uses I can't think of them all.
This is exactly the problem when trying to devise a list of "idiot gear." Some people will think that you include pitons and rope (ver heavy), while others will assume you have a quill and parchment (I mean, that's a necessity, right) and others will assume you have at least a week's worth of rations.
Originally posted by DM Zoc
This is exactly the problem when trying to devise a list of "idiot gear." Some people will think that you include pitons and rope (ver heavy), while others will assume you have a quill and parchment (I mean, that's a necessity, right) and others will assume you have at least a week's worth of rations.
That's why I made sure the stuff in my little list was so light, you're not having to choose between it and other stuff if your character is a lightweight. Generically useful stuff that weighs practically nothing should be a part of any good adventurer's gear, though I do agree that some of the big stuff you only need a bit amongst the whole party. Like rope. While you can never have enough rope, not everyone needs to be carrying 50 feet. If it's further than that, use pitons, and you can take the rope with you by getting two characters with good Climb ranks to plant and remove the next and last piton, while everyone stays tied together so they won't fall to their deaths. Works for mountain climbers, they don't need enough rope to reach from base camp all the way up, just enough to tie everyone together. Grappling hooks, while useful when the opportunity arrises, are similarly bulky and secondary.
Also, pen and paper are handy, but most people use the "I can make notes OOC, and then my character can have the same ones IC" excuse. But nothing prevents your character from just having a good memory. Plus, ink bottles are easily smashed, and paper easily ruined. A few sticks of chalk, on the other hand, can draw on practically anything, are almost immune to damage, and are generally handier for most on-the-spot uses.
This should be less a thread about the 'necessary' gear, and more about the little tidbits that are so gosh-darned useful and without drawbacks that everyone should carry them, regardless.
usually a cart (15GP) and a horse (75). park it outside the dungeon,
Mules cost 8 GP.
There are occassions when you need gear, there are characters (particularly ones meant to sophisticated nancies) who would need it (and would be a pain to adventure with), but saying that these items are for all characters all the time is silly.
Also, ignoring magic in D&D is another odd choice. Perhaps characters don't always have the spells prepared but a wand of heroes feast, or even the amazingly affordable and infinitely useful Cloak of Travel from Magic of Faerun (something I would be willing to call a must have for all characters, I always get one for mine) are not impossibilities.
Not all DMs allow FR materials.
Antitoxin - fairly expensive (at first level, at least), not terribly effective, and completely redundant if the party has a character capable of casting healing spells such as neutralize poison.
Flint and steel - not all characters need light to see, and a simple cantrip (Prestidigitation) can start a fire far more effectively. While certainly handy to have at times, this is not a necessity for every character.
Rope and grappling hooks - these are still kind of weighty (even with silk rope) and one for each character is wholly redundant. At absolute most there should be one set per two characters.
Food/Water - spells can summon them, and a character with the survival skill can procure them. Again, they are not always a necessity.
Yes, flint and steel and antitoxins are a must for every character. You might not have memorized Pretidigitation that day or have used your cantrips, and Gnomes are only one race.
Rope and grappling hooks I kind of agree.
Food and water you cannot have enough. As long as you are reasonably unencumbered by the weight, take food and water. Magic can make it lighter and smaller, but don't depend on magic.
THE TEN FOOT POLE!!!
So Sleek, so powerfull, so err...Ten-Foot-ish. Yeah, it will and can save the day. Who needs food when you have a ten foot pole!
Originally posted by VirgilCaine
Mules cost 8 GP.
thankS. they will replace the horse in my first level gear lisT.
Player's Handbook
Monster Manual
Dungeon Master's Guide
Game World Book
No character should be without these things. They're far too useful.
Players only need the PHB however. :D
Yoho1.5
DM: Its early spring the berry season hasn't begun and there are no edible flowers in bloom yet, seeing as you don't have any survival skill, (grabs a book on mushrooms from a huge pile of guide books, shows two different pictures of wild mushrooms) pick which one you want to eat, pick the right one and you have breakfast, pick the wrong one and make a Fort save
I'm a big fan of going adventuring with all my basic gear and not having to rely upon spell casters. I also tend to play a lot of Barbarians and Rangers, so...
In addition to most of this standard camping stuff, I will ususally take some sort of diggin/mining tool such as a shovel or light pick, and a sack (for carrying treasure that doens't fit into your backpack)
An often overlooked item that characters in most settings should consider getting is clothing. :p
Even if the first set is free, a lot of characters forget to carry even that...
Now I will have to fall on plan be... the Pocket Wizard (TM).
Yup... never leave home without your pocket wizard...they can whip up a spell for almost any situation.
To Make A Pocket Wizard (TM): Take 1 pixie, cast permanent Shrink Person on them. Insert in pocket. Make sure the aforsaid pocket wizard is of a good level... 10th level minimum.
Um... has anyone mentioned smoke sticks or holy water? Smoke sticks are great for foiling ranged attacks & making a quick escape under concealment... and holy water is a good think to have a couple of flasks of in case you don't have the weaponry to injure some undead fiend...
My last campaign had two dwarven brothers who took a mule and cart, at least one keg of ale and basically the whole equipment list with them everywhere they went.
The ongoing joke was that they had to find a way to (properly) use the battering ram at least once per session.
They always did, too. Darn handy for breaking down doors.
Comes in damn handy, too..
Anyways, I'm amazed nobody's mentioned FLOUR!!! I mean come on, how can you do without the 1st-lvl answer to Invisibility/Displacement? It also creates a nice few-round cloud of concealment for getaways. and all that for only 2CP/pound
I also like to carry Shovels and Crowbars around with me. They can be very useful.
I've had my life saved by a Crowbar. (Running from badguy, had to open locked door, whipped out Crowbar, made strength check by 1 b/c of the +2, got away.
I've also staked a vampire with a broken Shovel.
And never underestimate a Mirror when facing Gaze attacks.
My gear choices shift with the game.Right now i am playing a Gentleman Necromancer in a 17th century game.I am also a lawyer,so i deal with unsavory things as well...
I have a suit of rooms , a powdered wig,a rented coach,etc.
The gm let me spend alot of starting money on one item,despite the 1/4 rule.
I chose no weapon , but rather a gift from my dead grand father,a ring of prestidigitation , known as Haver's Red Eye.
With it i can live the life of a gentleman, almost any light task is completed for me,plus i am always clean, with my cloths of what ever color i like,small bits of blingbling drip from my fingers,i can light my pipe,flavor my brandy,warm and dry my clothes,cool my drinks,and best of all i never ever have to touch a dirty corpes.
Gear is useful !
Especially for low-level chars, a torch saves a lvl 0 spell and so on ...
I pay special attention to the gear my characters have.
My usual gear:
- rope ( I never let make one of my characters a step without a rope ! ) usually with a hook
- torches + fire stones ( or sth. to light them )
- diary or at least some sheets of paper -> pens
- Travel clothes + noble clothes ( especially for my bard atm ;) )
- Water skin
- Rations
- Chalk ( very useful in dungeons ;) )
- tent or at least a cover
- Instrument or something like this charakters should have at least a hobby except killing ugly monsters ... like playing an instrument, playing cards ( rogue :D ), collecting things and so on ...
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I don't say such things are definitly necessairy, but they could be life-saving ... Imagine you fall down a cliff, you would give anything to a party member who throws a rope to you lifting you up again ...
In fact extra gear could be really handy and I'll never do without it ...
sorry reviving this thread:
But I'm always interested in some extra gear ...
Immagine it, the nexus of reality tapped inside a sphere no bigger then a fist, and you're able to grasp into it and pull out whatever you put in and desire to come out.
Beats remembering weight managment on items. Course I understand this could be broken by hiding important people.. "Quick! Jump inside the ball that's smaller then your foot!" "-_-;; You can't be serious.." *Fighter of the group grabs the king and shoves him in there*
Here is the basic list of needed items for my character:
weapons & armor (dependant on class and starting cash)
ranged weapon (class approved)
dagger
class required items (holy symbol, musical insturment, thieves tools, etc.)
handaxe
pole (6' or 10' depending on race) 2 if possible
hammer
spikes (min. of 3)
shovel
50' rope, silken
grappling hook
whetstone
flint & steel
saw
cookpot
cup & silverwear
oil (3 flasks)
torch 2
backpack
bedroll
canvass (7' x 10') used for tent and strecher as needed.
normal clothing.
trail rations (as much as possible)
This list is my usual items reguardless of the party's purchases. Items are eliminated depending on starting cash.
Like some hardcore dwarven whiskey.
now here is my reasons
1) someone said about using perfume to throw off somethings scent...so can powerful alcohol
2) something may not be moving, but also not be considered helpless. Cover that baby in hard liquer, and then make a ranged touch attack with a tindertwig...
3)being chased? smash a flask against the floor and then toss a tindertwig when being chased
4) how many times have you been stuck to something...well ill give you a hint...most of those things like tanglefoot bags, mimics, a bunch of stuff like that that sticks to you...is negated by strong alcohol (or vinegar).
5) how many times have you wanted to do that thing like Xena where she spits it out on someone...
6) roleplaying. have a little drink after the tough fight. dump some onto that wound after pulling an arrow out. thats the stuff that makes the game great.
Originally posted by LordHell
Foraging/Survival. Game isn't as sparce as you think, unless the party is in some blight situation or other harsh territory. Rabbits and other small animals would be quite common, and anyone with any points in a bow or a sling could easily kill one.
All this takes time. While it's true that unless it's winter, game and vegetation should provide enough sustenance, you may still have to spend the entire day hunting and foraging just to fill the sustenance requirements for that day, even if you know your stuff. And considering that much of adventuring consists of travelling, you may have to make camp pretty early if you want to live off of nature.
Originally posted by Corwin MacGregor
Does the whetstone actually have an in-game mechanic, or is it just fluff?
The whetstone is used to sharpen bladed weapons. of course, your DM may say that you do not need one, or (s)he might say that as long as you have one, then you are fine. My DM never mentions them. Personally, I don't wanna have to make time to sharpen my +1 flaming longsword, because we get off task enough as it is, and this would just make us lose even more time.
So to answer your question, talk to your DM.
If you have, you'll realize serveral things.
1. While you can sleep out of doors in a cloak under the stars, the chill of dawn and morning dew no matter the season or the clime make the night very uncomfortable and unrestful.
2. Preparing food and camp even with your gear is time consuming, take the time to forage, prepare game and berries -- how many do you need for an adequate meal and how long does it take to pick them? -- and you don't do much adventuring. Clean, dress and cook a rabbit after sundown. It can be done, but it takes longer and is much more difficult. Takes way too much time when compared to dry rations.
3. Has anyone actually climbed a rock wall with a 10 pound pack without a grappling hook and line?
I like adventuring as much as the next guy, but I also really need for some "realism" to be there to make it more enjoyable.
Leaving town without basic camping gear is like going out to your car without the keys. You might be able to get in, start it and go, but its a lot less fun, more difficult and harder to explain when someone comes a long and asks why in the world you'd really want to be doing it this way?
Play the game you want to play the way you want to play it and I'll play it my way, but I like having the gear that I know I can rely on to get me through the rough parts.
winter blanket, subject to climate
antitoxin, defective vile of high priced ****
flint and steel, replace with means of starting a fire
50' silk rope, to heavy for a weak character and now worth the expense for a strong character. The party must have a goodly quantity of rope.
Grappling hook, one in the party will do. 2 is better
one piece of chalk, not for everybody
paper/parchment, not for everybody
whetstone, if you don’t have bladed weapons not needed. Eating knives don’t need sharpening that often.
Inkpen, ink, not for everybody
one waterskin (or more), one day's of trail rations (or more). Or means to create
For diplomatic characters, add sealing wax and a signet ring. For wizards, add a spellbook.
For spell casters add spell components, for clerics holy symbol
For everybody add a light even if you have dark vision.
String or twine. I go hiking. If you don’t have it you WILL want it. If you do have it you probably wont.
If your character shaves you need a means of doing so. (I don’t require players to say every morning I shave. Daily ablutions are assumed but they need to list the wherewithal to do it.
A mess kit is also a must and the party should have one pot. Not essential but very usfull.
Spare clothes (or means of fixing/cleaning them easily)
The party should have pitons hammer spade crowbar but not every character
Flower is very useful. Another use for it is scattering it on dungeon Flores, check in the morning to see if you have been flanked by wandering monsters.
Edward
Rope, food, drink, a bedroll, a light source, and something to start fires for every character. The party should, ideally, have one of everything from the PHB, but at least some sacks, paper, pen, and ink, basic tools (hammer, shovel, etc), and grappling hook.
bullseye lantern - a little more expensive, but you can see way down hallways or into the woods
wheel of cheese - nutrient dense and you can plug your ears with it in case of a harpy attack
tub of lard - a great lubricant/insulator, also good for flavoring beans
salt - technically you need salt to survive, realistically you can use it to melt ice on slippery surfaces or damage giant slugs (ok, neither of these things will probably ever come up, but I like salt)
pepper - You could blow it in somebody's face to blind them or make them sneeze. It also makes food taste better
dry foods(flour, rice, beans, etc) - you can buy these dirt cheap and they don't weigh much, just add water later and you have a meal
yeast - good for making bread...or beer...
cart - somebody mentioned it above, but a cart is a cheap, easy way to get your party's stuff from one place to another
big stick - club, quarterstaff, etc - a good spare weapon, very handy for when the swashbucklers and rogues realize they aren't hurting the skeletons with their rapiers
daggers - better than nothing against zombies, good in case you get swallowed whole, can be used while you're grappled
spare crossbow and bolts - some monk, wizard, cleric, or melee fighter can be counted on to forget to buy a missile weapon
"electric wok" - Enchant a wok using Heat Metal or Prestidigitation. This way you can cook without a fire that tips off enemies to your location by making a lot of smoke. I don't think your DM should probably charge you more than 450gp or so for this rather modest item.
wand of cure light wounds - a 1st level party might not be able to afford one of these, but once you can get them they're some of the cheapest, most useful magic items in the game
Edward
As a wizard, do not memorize all your slots up. Keep about one slot open per level so you can put in a needed spell when so desired. Somewhere in the PHB it states that as long as you leave no more than 10% of your spells slots unprepared you can prepare those slots in a matter of minutes. It is a sacrifice not having the slots prepared but i think i pays off. You find yourself rarely saying "It will be tomorrow, i need to prepare that spell", instead you say "give me a few minutes and i can take care of it".
Originally posted by fruits and vegetables
usually a cart (15GP) and a horse (75). park it outside the dungeon, return with loot to store in cart. everything is good loot at low levels. even dissassembling and taking a door is good for an extra 10-50GP.
I'm not letting you anywhere near my dungeon, you'd probably steal the stale air as well. Gee, that's classic.
HEHEHE!
That hard liquor thing sounds pretty useful, especially if it burns better than lamp oil. That reminds of this one time ...
The party my bard was in was fighting an evil priest who had protected himself with some kind of abjuration that made him invulnerable, as it redirected damage to these hearts he had taken from sacrificial victims. We could only beat him by destroying the hearts, and my shortbow wasn't very good at it, so I put my lamp oil into an empty waterskin, took a tindertwig, and proceeded to make an improvised flame thrower. It took care of the hearts nicely, and my armor of fire resistance made the fact that I caught fire not that big of an issue.
Antitoxin isn't all worthless, especially if you know you're up against poison using enemies, like drow for instance. Plus, if anyone else has read The Legacy by R.A. Salvatore, Thibbledorf Pwent's antitoxin sounded almost ... alcoholic. A lot more people would carry antitoxin if it was hard liquor, just think of all the uses!
-EE
usually a cart (15GP) and a horse (75). park it outside the dungeon, return with loot to store in cart. everything is good loot at low levels. even dissassembling and taking a door is good for an extra 10-50GP.
This reminds me of a great story...
One time my DM and a player decided to switch places for a short Star Wars Campaign... the former DM played the coolest scoundrel ever. He took everything he could for credits. Once he used bluff, diplomacy, and a wonderful imagination to trade some beds for 30 frag grenades.
Anyway, a few great items I enjoy are Boots of Striding and Springing (2500 gold) and ring of jump (around 2000).
"Rope. I knew I'd need it, and now I don't have it"-Sam Gamgee
moral of this story:ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS bring rope.
DM: Make a survival skill check.
Player: Why, the spell should work!
DM: Its a 0 level spell, that doesn't do any real fire damage, and all the wood is wet because it rained for the last two days."
what can i say, im picky. but i believe that unless the player is bloody stupid then they will use presidgatation to then dry the fire wood and light it... so HA! magic wins again.
shitload of weapons, including 2 muskets, 2 crossbows, and 2 greatswords
light armour
Cloak of the Bat, Headband of the Binder, Bracers of Charisma+6, Ring of displacement, Gloves of dex+6, bag of tricks, bag of holding 3, bedroll, winter blankey, cold weather outfit, lantern, oil, tindertwigs, 7 waterskins (4 are full of holy water), a month's worth of rations, soap, tent, 40 crossbow bolts (various enchantments), 18 assorted potions (cure, antidote, water breathing, spoder climb....), lyre of building, 7 daern's instnt fortresses, rod of splendor, bell, bucket, chalk, crowbar, firewood, hammer, mirror, 10-ft pole, pots, shovel, salt and pepper, a pair of cursed boots, golem manuals, human bones, dragon scales, a suit of armour made for a person with 4 arms+2, shitload of musical instruments, and last but not least, a bunch of metal cages full of baby Crysmals.
And that's without counting the "quest items" :D
Also, 2 immovable rods and a hammock. never sleep on the ground again
survival tools - assume it contains things for...climbing, foraging, sleeping outside, starting fires, digging, chopping, smashing, levering, fishing. (ties in well with food package)
food package - assume for one person...rations for a week, utensils, pan-type deal, fire-starting tools, water
dungeoneering tools - for all sorts of exploring and rogue-ish-ness...lockpicks, light sources, alchemical items, rope, hooks, etc.
See what I mean? Assume any little peice of what-not the characters want (CHALK! A WHISTLE!) can be found in the package. Some of these packs will be group packs, but it takes the tediousness of choosing mundane items at high levels. I could miracle a length of string, but that's on the other extreme.
oh...and prestidigitate creates real fire (one foot long burst from the fingertip), not elemental or whatever magical fire is.
Low levels, you have the same problem that soldiers through out time have had – you need everything but can only carry about 70 pounds of it. Pick and choose, buy party equipment and have the strongest carry it.
Mid (or even low) levels, skip the cart, just a mule or two and pack saddles. Load one up with food and a barrel of water, you and the animals will eat the food and drink the water then you can load stuff on the mule on the way home. The other has all of the gear you missed at first level – 200’ of rope, grappling hook (at least 2), block and tackle, crowbar, at least 2 shovels, extra clothing, bucket, metal tripod & cook pot, extra arrows (nothing worse than running out of arrows!), extra weapons in general, extra sunrods, extra candles, tinder boxes, tinder twigs, holy water, acid… you get the idea, go to town load up on everything you can think up. Then throw it away when your mule gets killed (or heal the mule, can’t tell you how many times we have spent healing on our mule so we did not loose our stuff!)
High level, invest in a instant fortress make it custom if you can (read the prerequisites it is a Mord’s Mansion which gets better as you go up levels.) stock it with anything you can think up and keep enough out in handy haversacks and bags of holding to get you through until you can open the fortress. I also ran a campaign where the characters turned a portable hole into their own “extra room” with gear stored in it, built a loft in the hole and put stuff in the top that they needed right away and stuff in the “basement” that they could afford to spend time digging for – do you know how much stuff will fit in a portable hole? Lots and Lots!
Originally posted by DevilKiller"electric wok" - Enchant a wok using Heat Metal or Prestidigitation. This way you can cook without a fire that tips off enemies to your location by making a lot of smoke. I don't think your DM should probably charge you more than 450gp or so for this rather modest item.
Originally posted by Duke Lupo
Also, 2 immovable rods and a hammock. never sleep on the ground again
Both are brilliant! Mind if I steal?
Dungeonerring (sp?) Essentials:
-Ten foot-pole/leather ball: Both detect traps
-Chalk/Piece of string: Track your way out of the dungeon
-Crowbar: As long as you have the time and resources, everything in the dungeon should be sold! (If I had my way in Anarchy Online, I would have picked up and sold all the furniture and plants in the randomly generated missions)
-Acid: Quick way to get through locked chests
Daggers, Hammers, Pitons, and Handaxes are all key items for working with meterals in ways that you don't want to risk an actual weapon on.
Shovel. For all those cave ins that would otherwise likely just soufficate you. Also, the quickest way to the burried treasure hoards.
All those little Alchemical things can come in handy.
Chain, for those occasional cases when ropes just don't cut it.
Need something opened? Crowbar!
Need a makeshift grappling hook? Crowbar! (not so effective, but good in a pinch)
Need to secure a rope so you can climb down a well? Crowbar in the ground!
Club? Crowbar!
And it goes on and on and on...
Never leave home without it.
Spell Casters do not need 8 hours of sleep to get their spells back. They need to spend a certian amount of time studying/praying/whatever, but that does not mean sleep. They could do this quite easily.
Rest: To prepare her daily spells, a wizard must have a clear mind. To clear her mind, she must first sleep for 8 hours. The wizard does not have to slumber for every minute of the time, but she must refrain from movement, combat, spellcasting, skill use, conversation, or any other fairly demanding physical or mental task during the rest period.
Have you ever spent a night on the ground with just a cloak or even a thin blanket? You shiver from the wind, shift yourself to get that rock out from under you, try to get confortable enough to sleep. You can't do it without a fair amount of movement and thinking about how stupid of an idea it was to not pick up a bedroll in that town three days ago. You can't prepare spells like that.
My view is that Usefullness as a concept is defined by the type of campaign and type of gamegroup you're in.
Some DM's and players like to immerse themselves in 'deep roleplaying' where they spend the whole session roleplaying the ranger hunting and shooting a rabbit or two, or playing out a whole set-up-camp; on the one hand trying to make it as detailed and realistic as possible with (argueable) high amounts of gameflavour and on the other possibly making it unnecessarily tedious.
Other DM's and players are more inclined to 'get on with it', keeping to the red line of an adventure. Player: 'I set up camp, hunt some rabbits and get some sleep after taking the first watch' DM:' Fine, you all wake up after an uneventfull night; two more days like this and you reach PlaifourKeep". This ensures speed but might limit the amount of deeper in-character roleplaying.
This said I think your equipment(list) should match the type of style that is played. In the first example a specific detailed list with weight and amounts might be in order, whereas in the second a generic statement of 'standard adventuring gear' (or packages as mentioned in another post) on the equipment list might be enough.
Personally i think it is important that players and DM come to an understanding of the level of detail of their equipment list. To find a balance between being specific and nitpicky to just assume you have packed everything you need without second thought.
Remarkably, a couple of the posts I've read here were not 'equipment-posts' persé, but more of a difference in gameplay opinion between player and DM (like lighting whet wood with a prestidigation, being chilly in a cloak, being able to park a mule and cart unattended in front of a dungeon without food, e.g.).
In line with all of this is the eternal debate on how to deal with the problem that 'players are not their characters' and 'DM's are not really God'. What you as a player might know is crucial to surviving a 10day hike through a forest is something your pencilpushing collegiate wizard might not. Vise versa, if you spend your normal life studying consumer relations or selling cars, you might not know what to bring tracking & hunting orcs in the forest where the 170year old elven ranger your playing has spent his whole life doing nothing else then doing just that. In both cases it is vital that in order to keep the game enjoyable the players and the DM 'help eachother out'. An equipment list should reflect all of this.
1. Change of Cloths...Nothing says I love you more than comming into town smelling like dead orc blood!
2. Soap. Not only to get clean, but also very fun in dungons, or squeezing into tight places.
3. Candles. Useful lights that are small and less cumbersome than lamps.
4. Lamp oil. Bye bye Trolls =) Combine with torch =) Or make a cool fire trap =)
5. Backpack/Bed Roll. Stardard and good.
6. Trail Rations and Water skin - DUH!
7. Whetstone - keeping the blades sharp.
8. Flint and Steel
Optional - encouraged for the group
9. Grappling hook with rope
10. Map/Scroll case
11. Lanter and more oil
12. Caltrops - Slow down angry persuit!!
13. Pitons - =) More fun with climbing or traps
14. Iron Pot - for fun and hijinks with over night camping =)
What ever happened to the retractable 10 foot pole?
It got replaced with the 1ft extendable pole.
A character without the survival skill should not be trying to forage.
and yet any character with a non-negative wisdom modifier can take ten on the check, and get enough food to keep him and one other person fed. moving at half speed.
There are all kinds of things wrong with sleeping without a bedroll; few are the places in the world that are so warm every night you can just sleep in your clothes.
Food and game availability varies a lot with local conditions. The idea is you carry some food and water and then spend a reasonable amount of time foraging, dipping into your rations when you have to. And remember, in the D&D world, there are all kinds of beasties trying to make their survival roll and stumbling across you .
Building a fire is more than just producing a flame, it's a skill, and doing so in challenging conditions is hard even with a source of ready ignition. A survival roll is entirely appropriate for being able to find dry tinder, knowing where to put it, knowing the kind of oily plant that might be good on top of that, teepee-ing the larger pieces of wood over that so that they can dry and than catch alight. And no, you should not be informed that you can't just put some flame on a wet log and it may not work before you cast your spell, since the whole point is that you don't know what you're doing.
Now, that's all according to my preference for setting and attention to detail. Lots of people like to abstract away more of these activities, and that's cool, too.
He also had a mule named Num Nums II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII (we'll call him 'Lucky' since the campaign ended).
not for use with crossbow of course
Technically if you're playing D&D as taking place in a quasi-medieval society, bathing isn't that common to begin with.
Yes, but washing is. People in the middle ages were not covered head-to-toe in •••• as common myth would have us believe.
1. Ring of Blinking
2. Cloak of Arachnida (think I spelt that right)
Also, one or more concealed daggers is a must for any character. Think about it.. how often do you need to cut ropes? How often do you need a backup weapon in a hurry? Daggers rock.
*shakes hands*
Hi, you must be new to the game. Any veteran player can tell you that you can NEVER have too much rope. :D
You can NEVER have enough rope. In a d6 Star Wars game, many years ago, we had 5,000 m of rope on our ship. We used every bit of it one game session.
You can NEVER have enough rope. In a d6 Star Wars game, many years ago, we had 5,000 m of rope on our ship. We used every bit of it one game session.
How in the Nine Hells do you use up 5000 m of rope in a single session, lasso a Star Destroyer?
In my experience as a Bard (played him once, long ago), Bards should carry up to 3 of every piece of larger mundane gear (instruments, toolkits, spare blank spellbooks for the Wizard) and as much of everything else that you can get your hands on (rope, chalk, ink, candles, torches, firewood, parchment, daggers, etc.). I miss my Bard with 18 Strength and Charisma but 12 in every other stat. He made me realize I hate crossing weak floors and bridges while carrying the loot.
How in the Nine Hells do you use up 5000 m of rope in a single session, lasso a Star Destroyer?
This made me lol.
When a fight is about to begin, theres nothing like having a pocket full of sand to fling at your enemies face. Not only are they distracted, they are blind too.
So much for the scent ability. Also makes a good blinding powder.
And occasionally, you can cook with it. Whats more, if you are caught with it, it will rarely be confiscated even if the town says no weapons.
As for the whole soap thing. The scent ability will work just fine even if you have had a bath and used soap. Scent doesn't follow your smelly underarms, it follows that natural scent that every person gives off at all times (whether clean or not), you know the one that we, as humans with inferior noses, cannot detect, but they, as animals/whatever with that superior olfactory sense, can smell from a mile away. Soap only ever really comes in handy when you're in a city setting and have to come into contact with nobility/royalty/upper class types, and in that case, you should be able to ask the innkeeper for a cake of soap and a bath (assuming you're staying in an inn, of course) for an additional fee, just like getting a meal in the common room can be added to your bill.
And for those who seem to think that everyone should be buying all this excessive equipment to carry around "just in case"....how will they be carrying all this stuff if they happen to have a really low Strength??? My DM may not be a fiend about making us forage for food (and generally we each have at least a few days' of trail rations), but he will definately penalize us for the carrying capacity! One of my current characters (a Grey Elf Wizard) has a Strength of 6. Now tell me, how is this slight Elven woman supposed to go around carrying a Backpack, Flint & steel, Whetstone, 50 of rope (silk or not), bedroll, heavy blanket, pitons, chalk, ink, inkpen, water, scroll cases, fishing hooks, etc. and NOT be way over her light load limit?? Not to mention, you want her to put sharp objects in the same backpack with the breakable ink pot, and her spellbook who's pages are still vulnerable to being ripped and torn??? And has noone ever invested in pouches??? Or perhaps a Handy Haversack?? The Haversack may cost a bit, but it will carry everything you could possibly need for adventuring without affecting your load capacity, plus has the added bonus of not requiring a standard action for rooting around in your pack to find whatever you need from it.
Items that are necessary will vary from character to character, that's all there is to it. The only thing I would say every character needs, is a backpack, or Haversack if you can afford it. Everything else should vary by character. Its illogical for a wizard/sorcerer to be carrying around 50 ft of rope or a tent or a 10 ft. pole, while I would not expect the illiterate barbarian to have chalk or paper or pens with him. I can't see the rogue hefting around a pound of soap on the off chance that he will need to clean up and be presentable for the nobility of the town. And would you see a druid carrying around a bunch of pitons just in case he needs to scale a cliff??? A Scout needs to be carrying no more than a light load unless he can afford to take the penalties to his Move Sliently, and leaving your pack somewhere makes no sense...unless you WANT the Rogue of the party sifting through your belongings, or, in the case of leaving it away from your party, wild animals being drawn to your pack by the food that's inside it. Certain classes can carry more than others, and it makes more sense to have said people being the ones carrying the majority of the stuff. If there is something your character needs to use and you don't have it...ask one of the other party members to borrow theirs for a minute! Attempting to prepare for every eventuality is unrealistic at best, and causes problems at worst.
Oh, and yes, there is a short list of items that I generally give to my characters...and these items depend heavily on what class my character is and what abilities/qualities they have.
Backpack/Haversack
flint & steel (pending darkvision)
2-3 days' trail rations (pending class)
3 belt pouches (if using backpack vs Haversack)
2 torches (pending darkvision)
1 dagger
1 whetstone (pending class)
50 ft of silk rope (only for fighter, barbarian, or rogue types)
- mess kit, four-candle silver candelabra, 24 marbles, 2 small magnets, 1 lb almonds, spiked small metal shield, spiked large wood shield, leather armor, loaf of bread, rope 50 ft, 10 parchments, small steel mirror, bell, empty flask, hunk of cheese, 1oz ink, merchant scale, light crossbow, 20 crossbow bolts, small wood shield, chunk of meat.
- spellbook, spell component pouch, 1 oz oregano, 1oz salt, portable game board, metal tongs, quarterstaff, dagger, 3 chalk, candle, 3 empty flasks, 3 papers, 3 parchments, 50ft hempen rope, torch, loaf of bread, hunk of cheese, chunk of meat, slate board, small magnet, live spider.
Can you guess the classes (and possibly races, maybe alignment, whatever you can guess) of each of these characters?
For firestarting, one to two party members need survival to do it.
2 day's water skins. Some environments can have water sources far apart.
Environment appropriate clothing.
If adventuring anywhere in the wilderness for an extended time, a bedroll.
A 4 man party should have a minimum of 100 feet of rope, if you plan on adventuring for any length of time.
A backup weapon.
A lantern. Covered fire is more reliable than candles in wind and rain.
*Length of rope, 50 ft. (climb, swing gaps, keep equipment off ground, pull stuff easier, tripwire, etc.)
*Eleven foot pole (test for traps, improvised weapon, balance aid. etc.)
*Dagger (weapon, eating utensil, tent stake, screwdriver, hatpin, hairpin, sewing needle, hundreds others)
*Roll of duct tape (optional, probably not available except in high-magic worlds)
A character armed with these is set for any situation.
Bandolier of pitons (10-20 of) - absolutely worth it for being able to spike that door shut (or open).
Hammer (for bashing pitons in)
Sledgehammer (two-handed use, for bashing things that you don't need to hold with the other hand; chests, etc).
Shovel (it's amazing how often you need to dig stuff)
Crowbar (doors, chest lids, stone blocks - sometimes they need a little persuasion)
ten Tindertwigs (sometimes you need a fire started right now)
Bedroll (if you're gonna sleep in the wild, may as well be comfortable)
Spare clothes (can double as bandages, if need be)
Travel rations (if you can't get real food)
2x waterskin (because you know you'll need it)
100 ft silk rope (because 50' occasionally falls short)
Grappling hook (just because)
Soap
Paper/parchment, ink, pens, scroll case (all good for mapping, etc)
Sealing wax (if you're rich enough to also have a signet ring)
Mirror (many uses)
Backpack, to carry most of that stuff in.
Dagger (just for eating with)
Hand-axe (cutting wood, etc)
I'm not even referring to the equipment lists; this is just off the top of my head :D.
We've gotten to the point when the GM asks, "Do you have ... ?" and everyone else looks at me. :P
Technically if you're playing D&D as taking place in a quasi-medieval society, bathing isn't that common to begin with. That said, you can decently clean yourself with just water, perfectly with Prestidigitation (clean), and perfume can be considered "more effective" as it can mask smell by just being splashed on without taking the time to bathe. Perfume can also double as an item to confuse a monster's scent ability.
Actual the norse did bathe regularly. In fact the brits comnplained about it because the local women where paying more attention to them because of it.
It is a sacrifice not having the slots prepared but i think i pays off. You find yourself rarely saying "It will be tomorrow, i need to prepare that spell", instead you say "give me a few minutes and i can take care of it".
Totally. I remember one occasion when I used two empty slots and a a few minutes preparation to teleport us back to town to take care of something and then back to where we were. Without the empty slots, would have taken a day of fooling about.
People got used to it so much that they didn't even bother anymore getting anything themselves, they just waited for my wizard to provide for them.
It was hilarious when that game ended and we started a new one with different characters. We get to a cliff and my character asks everyone else "so, umm, does anyone have any rope?".
To create The Nexilis Patented Bag-O-Random Stuff:
Take one Bag of Holding (Type to be determined by how much you want/need to carry) and add at least:
Bed Roll
Signal Whistle
Flint & Steel
Goliath Healing Kit (RoS pg 160)
Camouflage Kit (CA pg 122)
Silk Rope - 100 ft
Chalk - 10 pieces (enough for myself and everyone else in party to have at least 1 piece)
Crowbar
Flasks - 5
Grappling Hook
Sunrods - 5
Rations - One Weeks Worth
Waterskins - 2
Masterwork Craft tools (mine happen to be for basket weaving, it's a back story thing)
Tangle Foot Bags - 5
Vials - 5
Fishing Net - 25 sq ft
10 ft Pole - 1
Ale - 2 Gallons
Shovel
Chain - 10 ft
Superior Lock - DC 40 Open Lock to open
Alchemist's Fire - 5
Thunderstones - 5
Holy Water - 5
Piton - 10
Hammer
Caltrops - 10
Blasting Pellets - 10 (RoS pg 159)
Cold Weather Gear
Pipe w/ 1lb Tobacco
While all of this stuff may not be completely necessary it sure does come in handy. At least 5-6 times since I've introduced this character the proper tool has been in his sack when needed.
I always, always, ALWAYS bring ink, an inkpen, and either some paper/parchment or an extra spellbook to serve as a notebook.
If players wanted to be able to write down notes to themselves as reminders, would you rule that their character has to also have the same writing equipment?
Okay, wow, so for the DM's out there who make their players hunt/forage/scavenge for every little morsel they eat.....does your players' "downtime" (ie, the time between major events where people rest/regain spells/etc.) last longer than their actual combat???? And if so, then you guys are doing something seriously wrong with your games. You're taking things way too realistically and forgetting that people aren't playing this game so they can pretend to be big, bad adventurers out to do mundane, everyday things. You're taking a fantasy game and forcing it to follow real world terms....and here I thought the whole idea for playing the game was to sit around with a bunch of friends and escape the real world for a bit!
Ah, yes, cause I just went out and survived for 3 weeks in the woods with the clothes on my back and a bowie knife.
The point of fantasy games is to be something you're not. Making the general assumption that food is plentiful takes away from people who want to play survivalists, those army Recon type guys that can walk into a jungle naked, pick up a rock, and 2 weeks later, have a jungle city with monkey butlers.
Making the general assumption that food is plentiful takes away from people who want to play survivalists, those army Recon type guys that can walk into a jungle naked, pick up a rock, and 2 weeks later, have a jungle city with monkey butlers.
To tell the truth, I've never met that kind of player. Most want to blow stuff up and look cool doing it.
Getting diarrhea from drinking untreated water is not fun. A way to boil, filter, or chemically treat water is a must for most multi day wilderness hikes.
Another wilderness tip
Berries - you can pretty much tell which ones are safe to eat by watching the birds, that's a no brainer.
This is very, very bad advise. I don't know where you live, but where I live there are many berries that are poisonous to humans that are not poisonous to birds. Holly and mistletoe come to mind.
Never assume that something is safe to eat just because you saw another animal eating it. The whole point of berries is to be eaten; some kind of animal eats every kind of berry.
*A Towel (the most useful tool in the universe)
*Length of rope, 50 ft. (climb, swing gaps, keep equipment off ground, pull stuff easier, tripwire, etc.)
*Eleven foot pole (test for traps, improvised weapon, balance aid. etc.)
*Dagger (weapon, eating utensil, tent stake, screwdriver, hatpin, hairpin, sewing needle, hundreds others)
*Roll of duct tape (optional, probably not available except in high-magic worlds)
A character armed with these is set for any situation.
This is a very good set of items, and I would have a character with these items if I can. The only items in this list I actually had in the game was the rope and the dagger (for the uses you listed). I don't think I could get a duct tape, and a 11' pole might be very long and hard to carry, but it is a good item anyways (and the player handbook has only a 10' pole anyways). Anyways, how much does duct tape cost? (11' pole price/weight is in Munchkin d20 Player's Handbook)
"I am going to use the secret weapon... duct tape."
Rope
Bedroll
Shovel
In my last few campaigns, I am the only character with a shovel. All the other people looked at me like I was crazy (well, more crazy than usual), but the shovel did come in handy more than once.
This is a very good set of items, and I would have a character with these items if I can. The only items in this list I actually had in the game was the rope and the dagger (for the uses you listed). I don't think I could get a duct tape, and a 11" pole might be very long and hard to carry, but it is a good item anyways (and the player handbook has only a 10" pole anyways). Anyways, how much does duct tape cost? (11" pole price/weight is in Munchkin d20 Player's Handbook)
It shouldn't be that difficult to make a ten foot pole a foot longer. And I'm not sure about the duct tape, I was just listing it for its real-world utilities.
A friend of mine once GMed a game where one guy had nothing but ...
1. a portable ram (carried by 4-8 men ...)
2. cage with a chicken in it (god knows why)
3. a sword
4. Hogs as well, unless I remember wrong
That was hes adventuring gear at the beginning.
But in essential if we're playing in a world with "normal rules" you need about same kit as you need when camping in the wilderness, this means a big pack, some spare clothes, bed roll, tent, cooking kit, tools for making fire, a way to navigate (map and a compass if not a ranger etc.) and ofc. food and water and preferably some fire wood as well.
For dungeon crawling and exploring you need parcment, ink, quills etc. or players can't do mapping at all (not all use this rule but I do just for RPing sake).
Easy way is to make a list of about everything in players handbook and the give it to players and say "this list costs xx and each of you have it when game starts".
This way all are prepared with the basic stuff and we can have the suspension of belief with minimum of fuss.
It also serves as a handy way to speed starting new characters, since needed items are allways the same in the end.
All this takes time. While it's true that unless it's winter, game and vegetation should provide enough sustenance, you may still have to spend the entire day hunting and foraging just to fill the sustenance requirements for that day, even if you know your stuff. And considering that much of adventuring consists of travelling, you may have to make camp pretty early if you want to live off of nature.
Don't know if it's been pointed out...
From the SRD
Seriosly anyone who has been backpacking before cn tell you that good boots are a necessity.
You only have too many mundane items when you start to need magic items to hold them all.;)
I must say, the most important item in all of D&D is....
THE TEN FOOT POLE!!!
So Sleek, so powerfull, so err...Ten-Foot-ish. Yeah, it will and can save the day. Who needs food when you have a ten foot pole!
No, no, no...you want an eleven foot pole. Far too many things have a ten foot blast radius.
1. A tightly sealable locket with Continual Flame cast on a small gem inside. When opened, it's a hands-free light source; it can easily be turned off by shutting it. Just make sure the fighter wears it, since it tends to attract arrows.
2. Books. The ideal form for a masterwork tool designed to give bonuses to a Knowledge skill.
3. A block and tackle. Sometimes, you just need to haul something a little heavier than normal.
4. A hammer and nails. It's really not too hard to find enough wood to cobble together what you need in most places...but it's a lot harder to find nails.
- wineskin
- rope
- backpack/sack
- coin purse or other pouch
- weapon?
- armor?
- clothes
- rations
- rope
- tinderbox (flint/steel)
- a torch or two
it all really depends on where in the campaign you are, how you handle starting equipment based on backgrounds or other, and what they can find.
example a poor farmer just leaving home for adventure probably wont have much if he takes it from home, and may only have what little his family and friends may have given him to start his journey. while someone form a more wealthy area could have more than they really need, or high quality things like silk shirts, lanterns, mount, etc.
the farmer may have inferior weaponry while the other oculd have a masterwork weapon.
either way it depends on thsoe things, and what the player wants his character to have within what the DM allows.
the above list is standard what you should have at least. all other things can be acquired along the way.
Technically if you're playing D&D as taking place in a quasi-medieval society, bathing isn't that common to begin with. That said, you can decently clean yourself with just water, perfectly with Prestidigitation (clean), and perfume can be considered "more effective" as it can mask smell by just being splashed on without taking the time to bathe. Perfume can also double as an item to confuse a monster's scent ability.
Actually, it very much depends on where and when within said medieval society. A lot of timber was cut to heat bath water, and among certain aristocracies regular bathing was expected.
2. Rope
3. Bombs
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Joking aside, you never know when some 'Useless' item will be useful. If you can, use a magical storage device to hold them all. I garauntee you you will find a use for them all eventually.
Mmmm... Bacon
Bedroll, winter blanket, antitoxin, flint and steel, 50' silk rope, grappling hook, one piece of chalk, paper/parchment, whetstone, inkpen, ink, one waterskin (or more), one day's of trail rations (or more). For diplomatic characters, add sealing wax and a signet ring. For wizards, add a spellbook.
For those concerned with being encumbered or the expense, these are not of significant enough weight or cost (except maybe the paper) to really be concerned with.
To comment on these items however. Some items are really not needed by each individual in a group. For example, pen and paper. paper is costly at lower levels and not something that an adventurer really needs to be carrying around in the wild or a dungeon. It might be a good idea for someone in the group to have this (probably the Wizard who uses pen and paper for his spell research anyways) But all charaters having this is somewhat of an unneeded burden.
The same with sealing wax and a signet ring. Not perhaps a bad idea in a RPing heavy campaign in a city. But by and large something that is not needed in the course of normal adventuring in the wild and dungeons. A simple signature will ussually suffice, and a signet ring will hardly effect most diplomacy checks. Perhaps not a bad idea for some characters to get such an item, especially later on when they gain prestige with their levels and may need to do alot of official documentations (perhaps they might own some land with a village or something) Their signature and that of a witness is all they really legally need otherwise.
Some of these other items the party as a whole might use one or two of, but isn't needed for the entire group. for example a Whetstone and Flint and Steel, certainly needed items if they want to have campfires and sharpen their swords, but the group only needs one of these (perhaps two) and the whole party certainly doesn't need them. The same with rope, I would advise that several party members have some rope (after all the group might need more then the standard 50') however it is not something that each and every member needs to have a coil of.
What I would like to know, is why Pyro_Azer felt the need to resurrect this thread?
Why does it matter? It's a good thread.
Thieves tools- Bonuses for getting the job done can never be too highly recommended
Change of clothes- Any thief worth his trade is going to have a mix and match of costumes to aid in disguise
Writing stuff- A range of paper and inks for letters of mark and introductions. Poor quality through to good and sealing wax to boot, just in case. Lead and a fine tool to carve a seal.
Caltrops- always a must when the mark decides to become the hunter.
Lots of black stuff- Including a mask and gloves (sure it makes bluffing hard when caught in the act).
Rope and grapple (and a fighter companion)- Always handy to be able to climb. Even more handy when you don't have to be bogged down with the encumberance (Hense the fighter- It helps if he is stupid too)